Governance & Funding

The Babraham Institute Board of Trustees has specific responsibilities under the BBSRC Conditions of Grant. It is responsible for the financial management and administration of the Institute and ensures that the Charity is acting within its Memorandum and Articles of Association. Ultimately, the Board has responsibility for developing the strategy for the Institute alongside the Director, and oversees and reviews the management and achievements of the Institute.

​Certain activities of the Charity must be approved by the Charity's members. The Babraham Institute has three members; the BBSRC as a Corporate Member, the Chair of the Board and the Chair of the Audit Committee. Registered Charity No. 1053902. A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales No. 3011737 VAT No. GB 915 7864 89

Babraham Committee Overview

Our committees meet regularly and report directly to the Board through specific Board members who sit on the respective committees. Day-to-day running of the Charity is managed by the Institute Director, with support of the Executive Committee consisting of senior scientists and managers across science programmes and support functions.

​The Board delegates responsibility for certain activities through various committees as follows:

Ethics Committee

All applications from the Babraham Research Campus for Home Office Project Licences to use living animals under ASPA are subjected to ethical review and must be approved in advance by an Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB). This committee includes Babraham Institute and non-Babraham Institute scientists, veterinary surgeons, animal care staff and lay members. A commitment to reduce, refine and replace animal experiments, where possible, underpins the work of the committee. The Home Office Inspector has an open invitation to attend the meetings, and receives applications that have been given local approval. The Committee also oversees the training of staff permitted to perform procedures on living animals.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee provides oversight of risk, treasury, finance and audit. The Committee ensures that the finances of the Charity are regularly reviewed and controls and risks are managed effectively.

Advisory Committee

The Science and Impact Advisory Committee provides oversight of the scientific strategy and scrutiny of the ISPs. The Committee ensures robust peer review and governance structure to support and strengthen the quality of research carried out.

Funding

The Babraham Institute is one of eight institutes that receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The majority of our funding is derived from the BBSRC as our principal sponsor and strategic funder, however the Institute also receives external grants and fellowships competitively gained from research councils, charities and industry. These support uplift from our core research programmes, examples include response mode grant funding from the BBSRC, MRC, Wellcome Trust, other charities, EU and industry